18 Women From History Who Took A Stand

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6. Striving for a better future

The woman at the centre of this photo is Elizabeth Eckford. She was one of the first group of African-Americans who turned up to take mixed-race classes at school, after the US Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal and unconstitutional to segregate pupils based on race.

As you can see from others in the photograph, she received a lot of abuse from cruel onlookers. It’s almost impossible to imagine what these brave people went through when attitudes around race were still this bad.

7. Serving up some equality

This is Billie Jean King, a professional tennis player who held the record for most wins at Wimbledon, and after her playing career came to an end, she stayed involved with tennis, and is seen as the founder of the equality movement between players in the men’s game and the women’s game. As you can imagine, she had more than a few critics.

8. Zooming past the boys

This is Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis, a female racing driver, which was almost unheard of at the time. She had a successful career, and was the first female driver to compete in Formula One.

9. Squad goals

This is Senda Berenson, the founder of women’s basketball, and her team. She also ended up modifying the rules to men’s basketball, which were set in place in 1891. A real trailblazer in the world of sport.

10. Beauty and brains

This is Heddy Lamar, an American film actress and inventor. As you can see, she was incredibly beautiful, but also surpassed everyone’s expectations by being one of the finest scientific minds of the time. It’s thanks to her that we now have cellular communication.